UN / HUMAN RIGHTS BACHELET

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10-Aug-2018
00:02:37

After a vote by the United Nations General Assembly in New York, former two-time President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, has officially been appointed as High Commissioner for Human Rights, effective from 1 September. UNIFEED / FILE

2. Wide shot, Trusteeship Council chambers
3. Med shot, delegates
4 SOUNDBITE (English) Miroslav Lajčák, President, United Nations General Assembly:
“The Secretary-General, pursuant to the provisions of resolution 48/141, proposes the appointment of Michelle Bachelet of Chile as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for a term of office of four years, beginning on 1st September 2018 and expiring on 31st August 2022.”
5. Wide shot, Trusteeship Council chambers
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Miroslav Lajčák, President, United Nations General Assembly:
“It is so decided.”
7. Wide shot, audience applause
8. Wide shot, Secretary-General António Guterres walks up to podium
9. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“I am delighted that the General Assembly has confirmed the appointment of Ms. Michelle Bachelet as the new United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Ms. Bachelet has been as formidable a figure in her native Chile as she has at the United Nations. At home, she has known the heights and the depths – as the first woman to serve as the country’s President, but also as a survivor of brutality by the authorities targeting her and her family many decades ago.”

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

10. Close up, journalist taking notes

10 AUGUST 2018, NEW YORK CITY

11. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“She takes office at a time of grave consequence for human rights. Hatred and inequality are on the rise. Respect for international humanitarian and human rights law is on the decline. Space for civil society is shrinking. Press freedoms are under pressure. To navigate these currents, we need a strong advocate for all human rights – civil, political, economic, social and cultural. We need a person who can ensure the integrity of the indispensable human rights mechanisms of the United Nations.”
12. Pan right, Guterres walks away

After a vote today (10 Aug) by the United Nations General Assembly in New York, former two-time President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, has officially been appointed as High Commissioner for Human Rights, effective from 1 September.

The announcement was made by General Assembly President, Miroslav Lajčák.

Minutes after she was voted in, UN chief Antonio Guterres told reporters he was “delighted” by the news of her official appointment as Bachelet “has been as formidable a figure in her native Chile, as she has at the United Nations.”

He highlighted her role as the first leader of UN Women, between 2010 and 2013 and noted her role as the first woman to serve as her country’s President, but also as a survivor of brutality by the authorities targeting her and her family, many decades ago.”

As this year marks the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human rights, and at a time when “hatred and inequality are on the rise,” the Secretary-General said “to navigate these currents, we need a strong advocate for all human rights – civil, political, economic, social and cultural. We need a person who can ensure the integrity of the indispensable human rights mechanisms of the United Nations.”

Bachelet will be the seventh High Commissioner since the office was created in 1993. She replaces Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, who took on the role in September 2014